Vikas Kohli of FatLabs wins a MARTY Award

Vikas Kohli of FatLabs has just completed a hat-trick by winning a MARTY Award from the Mississauga Arts Council this past Friday, May 13th. This is the 3rd award in the past 2 months he has received for his work as a film composer and music producer. On Friday April 1st, he became the first composer to receive the prestigious Voice Achievers Award in Entertainment; And on Sunday April 10, he became the first composer to receive the coveted Trailblazer Award from the ReelWorld Film Festival.

"I owe this award to every film director and recording artist who trusted me to create music for their project," commented Kohli during his acceptance speech at the gala event held at the Living Arts Centre. Backstage, he quoted the line "Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip it’s been" from a Grateful Dead song when asked how he felt about the past few weeks. And grateful is apt considering there were 21 talented artists in his MARTYS Performing Arts category.

These three awards demonstrate the breadth of Kohli’s involvement with the music scene. Between the MARTY Award, the Voice Achievers Award and the Trailblazer Award, Kohli’s work has now been recognized by the City of Mississauga, the South Asian community and the film industry, respectively. This marriage of music and film has led Kohli to produce an original live fusion music concert for the upcoming IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) Awards coming to the GTA this summer.

In 2008, Kohli was the first Canadian to have one of his song productions performed live at the IIFA awards; which is the Bollywood equivalent to the Oscars. In 2008 & 2006 Kohli produced albums for The Responsibles which charted across Canada and were nominated for awards. In 2010, three films Kohli composed for ("I Do. Do I?", "Shanti Baba Ram and the Dancers of Hope", and "The Bee") all won awards at various festivals. In 2010, Kohli co-wrote and produced "Did You Think" by Jennifer Abadesso f/ Moka Only, which hit #1 on Radio Alpha 98.6FM Paris, France and charted in several other European countries.

Produced by the Mississauga Arts Council, the 17th annual MARTYS recognize the achievements of 14 of over 100 nominated artists in the categories of literary, performing, media, creative community and visual arts. The Voice Acheivers Awards recognize members of the South Asian Community in Canada who have become successful in their fields. Created in 2002, the Trailblazer Award recognizes the accomplishments of ethnically diverse Canadian film industry professionals whose work has broadened our horizons.